Kolkotta : Vineet Kumar Goyal has been reassigned as the ADG & IGP of STF in West Bengal.
IPS Manoj Verma To Be New Police Commissionar For Kolkota
In response to the RG Kar Hospital situation, the West Bengal government has appointed Manoj Kumar Verma as Kolkata’s new Police Commissioner on Tuesday. This decision came after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met with protesting doctors and agreed to most of their demands, including the removal of former Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal and two other officials.
Medical professionals have been demonstrating since August 10, seeking justice for a trainee doctor who was sexually assaulted and killed at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata the previous month.
#BreakingNews IPS Manoj Verma is the new Police Commissioner of Kolkata Police. Vineet Goel has been removed as ADG STF.@KolkataPolice #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/6EzEO1ljlt
— AARITRA GHOSH (@JournoAaritra) September 17, 2024
Following discussions with the doctors, Banerjee announced late Monday night that former Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal, Director of Medical Education Kaustav Nayek, North Kolkata Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Gupta, and Director of Health Services Debashish Haldar would be removed from their positions.
Abhishek Gupta has been moved to the role of Commanding Officer, Eastern Frontier Rifles, 2nd Battalion.
A notification from the state’s Health and Family Welfare department on Tuesday stated that Dr. Kaustav Nayak is now the Director of the Institute of Health and Family Welfare, while Debashish Halder is the OSD for Public Health at Swasthya Bhawan.
Banerjee mentioned that new appointments would be made on Tuesday after a scheduled Supreme Court hearing. After several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the impasse due to doctors’ requests for live broadcasting of the meeting, both parties finally convened on Monday at Banerjee’s Kalighat residence.
The Chief Minister stated that Vineet Kumar Goyal had expressed willingness to step down during the meeting with doctors. She also assured that no punitive measures would be taken against the doctors and that the state had accepted nearly all of their demands.
Vineet Goyal, Kaustav Nayek, Abhishek Gupta, and Debashish Haldar have been removed from their positions following discussions with the doctors. Abhishek Gupta has been reassigned as the Commanding Officer of Eastern Frontier Rifles, 2nd Battalion. According to a notification from the state’s Health and Family Welfare department, Dr. Kaustav Nayak is now the Director of the Institute of Health and Family Welfare, while Debashish Halder is the OSD for Public Health at Swasthya Bhawan. Banerjee mentioned that new appointments will be made after a scheduled Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday.
#Breaking: Manoj Verma is the new #Kolkata Police commissioner.
— Shaheryar Hossain (@hossain_shaher) September 17, 2024
Former Kolkata Police commissioner Vineet Goyal is the new ADG STF…
Latest transfer order of IPS officers. pic.twitter.com/V4q32ZiUxj
The meeting between both parties finally took place on Monday at Banerjee’s Kalighat residence, despite doctors’ requests for it to be live broadcasted.
The doctors had been calling for Goyal’s resignation due to his handling of the vandalism at RG Kar Hospital during a protest march on August 14. He faced accusations of mismanaging the situation and received political criticism.
These decisions were officially approved and signed by Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, with the 42-doctor delegation who attended the meeting countersigning them. It was also decided that a special task force, led by Pant, would oversee safety measures in hospitals.
